A little bit of a change of emphasis today saw the fresh northeasterly remain a constant feature and perk up interest on the sea where auks and waterfowl were moving in quantity; although
Redwing numbers were reduced it was hardly a case of overall reduced circumstances on the land since there were plenty of other new arrivals on offer.
Auks were numerically the winners on the sea, with thousands still passing the Bill, but a varied passage of waterfowl there included 171
Brent Geese, 8
Greylag Geese, 6
Grey Herons, 6
Wigeon, 3
Shoveler, 2
Eider and singles of
Great Crested Grebe,
Shelduck,
Teal and
Tufted Duck; at the same time, waders arriving in off included 24
Lapwings, 3
Snipe, 3
Dunlin and 2
Golden Plover; another 7
Golden Plover were settled at Barleycrates Lane. Passerines trickled through at the Bill all day, with 1000
Starlings, 110
Redwings, 270
Goldfinches, 50
Chaffinches, 33
Siskins, 15
Skylarks, 15
Goldcrests, 10
Chiffchaffs, 6
Blackcaps, 3
Swallows and singles of
Bullfinch and
Hawfinch very much minimum totals in view of the far from adequate coverage;
Black Redstarts were also still scattered about in good numbers and at least 1
Firecrest lingered on. Ferrybridge was well-watched for a change, with 3
Sanderling, 2
Knot and a
Redshank amongst the waders, whilst the
Red-necked Grebe remained in Portland Harbour.
Today's new Hawfinch was a female and so afforded a nice up-close opportunity to check out the differences between it and the male from a few days ago © Martin Cade:
The gabardine colour palette in all its multitudinous glory - today's two Siberian Chiffchaffs © Martin Cade:
